A Brisbane based food blog written by a couple with a passion for food.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Made in Africa

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We wanted something different for lunch today and having read good reviews on a few African restaurants, we decided to head down to Moorooka, a suburb that we have never actually visited! For starters, neither of us are familiar with African cuisine and along the way there, we wondered whether we were going to have dishes that tasted somewhat like Indian curry....erm... as their eating styles are quite similar?? We have read about the common use of Berbere spice and the traditional Injera bread and so we really looked forward for whats to come!

Made in Africa serves Ethiopian cuisine. The place is quite small, seating about 20 and is quite dark inside. The walls are dotted with ethiopian art and african music is played in the background. After a quick look over the menu Miss food hunter decided on the Lentil Stew and Mr food hunter chose the Tibes Wot.
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Tibes Wot $14.90

According to the description on the menu Tibes Wot is a lamb or beef sauteed in herb butter seasoned with onions, green pepper and rosemary. The dish seemed promising as the aromas of herbs wafted from the plate but once I tucked in, it became a bit disapointing. Mainly the biggest issue with this dish is the lack of herbs and funny as it may sound, one portion of the lamb was strong in herbs and the other was bland. Non-uniformity in stirring? The rice used is quite similar to basmati and was coated in the butter (probably ghee) which brought the dish together.

Lentil Stew $13.95

Some sourdoughs can get quite tangy but honestly, i have never had bread that tasted this sour and personally, i rather enjoyed it! Injera is a large crepe like yeasted bread that looks rather greyish with a soft springy texture and with this dish, there were 2 rolls, plenty for mopping up the stew. The lentils were cooked in cardamon and onion but i couldn't detect either of them nor could i detect any other spice. Was onion juice used instead and only a sprinkle of cardamon used? In fact, the lentils were rather tangy and that made the whole dish monotonously sour. I have not a clue what Ethiopian lentil stew should taste like and shall rest my case here...a note here, don't be expecting punchy spiced lentils here.

After lunch, our first thoughts were we had to try other African restaurants to make a decent comparison. We went away feeling a little disappointed and felt that the price didn't quite justify the meals that were served. Also, we didn't see Berbere on the menu!!

About Us

We are a merry couple living in brisbane who love to explore and try all the flavours of the world. We indulge in an array of cuisines from east to west and everything in between. Nothing excites our appetites more than trying out new places to eat and sharing with our friends and families the discoveries we make. We hope our experiences may also excite you too. If you wish to contact us, our email is diesel13sg@hotmail.com.